China reports another bird flu death; airline stocks slump

A 64-year-old peasant farmer became the sixth person to die of the H7N9 virus in east China, according to a Xinhua news service report Friday, adding to fears surrounding the new strain of bird flu that is rapidly gaining recognition.

The victim, surnamed Zhang, is the second reported casualty in Zhejiang province in eastern China. Authorities in Shanghai have reported four deaths. China has so far confirmed 14 H7N9 cases, according to the Xinhua report, including six in Shanghai, four in Jiangsu, three in Zhejiang and one in Anhui – all in the eastern part of the country.

Reuters

Technicians begin to cull poultry at a Shanghai wholesale market, where H7N9 bird flu virus was detected in pigeon samples

“Currently, the situation seems to be much more serious than previous cases of bird flu, although still no comparison to the SARS [Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome] in spring 2003. The ongoing bird flu could have sizeable impact on the economy, so investors [are] justified to be cautious,” said Ting Lu, a China economist at B. of A. Merrill Lynch.

“We understand investors’ overreactions may not be avoidable, but past experiences [tell] us that the negative impact from such epidemics won’t last too long and ensuing pent-up demand could be quite strong, so there is no need for panic in financial markets,” Lu added.

Andrew Sullivan, director for sales trading at Kim Eng Securities, wrote to clients that the threat, although “probably overblown,” was a big unknown. The situation was “being made worse” by light information flow, given mainland Chinese markets were closed Friday, he added.

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